


A Fruitful Christmas Eve

by Cold_Gold_Heart



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Christmas Eve, Gen, Mentioned Akashi Shiori
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-23
Updated: 2017-12-23
Packaged: 2019-02-19 01:07:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 969
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13112625
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cold_Gold_Heart/pseuds/Cold_Gold_Heart
Summary: It's Christmas Eve, and Akashi Seijuurou plans on asking his father to accompany him on a visit to his mother's grave. This little request leads to a few surprises along the way.





	A Fruitful Christmas Eve

**Author's Note:**

> Possibly OOC Masaomi. 
> 
> One reference to [Constant](http://archiveofourown.org/works/13067349), but you don't need to read it to understand this.

His father was in the middle of the dining room.

Even with his brown mop of hair, he managed to stand out in front of a Christmas tree with bright, flashing lights and a lantern the shape of a star atop it, glowing with white light. Akashi remembered that there was a time that it wasn’t this color, that it wasn’t this small. When he was in fourth grade, a huge, red star rested atop the tree. When one of their most loyal servants tried to take one of the golden ornaments on the tree, the star crashed on the floor and shattered.

 _Like a burning red star burning out and becoming a white dwarf,_ he thought, with a light chuckle. Then, he remembered what he was supposed to do, although it would probably be another futile attempt. “Father.”

His father didn’t seem to hear him as he held onto one of the ornaments. Akashi wondered if he was remembering how Mother used to hang them up. She never wanted the servants to do it, although his father always suggested she let them. He couldn’t help but smile sadly. His father did have emotions after all, although he often forgot. He was most likely recalling the Christmas days he had spent with his wife. Akashi remembered rarely seeing the two actually doing anything couple-like when he was younger. The only times he did witness them spending time together were on Christmas Eve. It was the one night his father devoted completely to his mother.

“Father, I have a request.”

His father turned around. “Yes, Seijuurou?” Akashi flinched at the way his voice shook. It was strange to see his father so vulnerable.

“I was wondering if you’d like to visit Mother with me.” Akashi could only hope that because of the state he was in, he might accept.

His father’s back straightened. “I’m afraid I cannot. I have work to attend to.” Then, he walked away, although his steps weren’t as assured as they usually were. Akashi sighed. It was just another Christmas Eve, then, he thought, as he walked to his mother’s grave, located very close to his home.

Somehow, moving towards his mother’s grave was calming, although sad, as he remembered the days when he would run into his mother’s arms instead of walking towards her grave. He could see his father’s name from afar, written in red, on the stone, and just as he was about to put down a blue hyacinth on the grave, he noticed a red spider lily. Akashi was the type, who even if surprised, remained calm, but he couldn’t help himself from gaping in shock. His other relatives usually only visited during the end of the summer, so it must be…

Why would his father leave a red spider lily, an _adabana_? His mother disliked those flowers. Although they represented reincarnation, they also represented fruitless love. Then again, his father didn’t have any reason to know about the language of flowers.

Akashi sighed and closed his eyes. “I apologize, Mother. I was unable to bring Father here with me, but it looks like he visited you earlier. I have been on a losing streak lately. Rakuzan was second place during the Winter Cup last school year, and we placed second again at the Interhigh. Kuroko’s and Aomine’s schools were surprisingly strong. They’ve both truly exceeded my expectations.”

Akashi smiled, eyes still closed. He could almost see his mother now. “Defeat is… difficult, to say the least, but I truly believe I can learn from it and do better. I have to believe that, especially for our new power forward. He was my kouhai in junior high, yet I have never been a good senpai to him. I have to make up for it. I’m sure we’ll win the Winter Cup together.”

Then he opened his eyes. “I was able to play in a match with my former teammates. We were able to win together, once again. I’m more than satisfied with Rakuzan, yet I still miss being teammates with them. I don’t think our bonds will ever truly fade… It looks like you were right after all. Love is constant. Thank you, Mother.”

He enjoyed the silence and pulled his scarf around him more tightly, as he sat there, serenity washing over him. Then, it turned into surprise when he heard the footsteps of the one other person who visited his mother on Christmas Eve—his father.

Akashi stood up and bowed. “Hello, Father.”

“Hello, Seijuurou.” All is silent again, and it feels strange. Surprisingly, (he’s been getting a lot of surprises today), his father speaks up.

“Your mother… She truly tried to help me become a better person, a better father.” His father seemed to stiffen as he said this. “In the end, her efforts were fruitless.” He gazed pointedly at the adabana. “I… failed to become a better person.” It’s almost a whisper when he says it, and Akashi can barely believe it. After all, failure was like death. For his father to admit it…

“Her love was fruitless… At least, that’s what I thought.” He turned to Akashi, his expression softer than ever before. “But it was her love—it was our love that lead to your existence, and I think… it wasn’t fruitless.”

Once again, Akashi openly gapes, before quickly gaining his composure. “Thank you, Father.” His head was spinning, as his father picked up the adabana and let it fly off in the wind. He looked at the flower that was left. “Constancy?”

Akashi nodded. “Yes.”

His father’s lips curved into what wasn’t quite a smile, but it was enough. Somehow, it felt like their family was whole again—no, for the _first time_. For now, maybe his father would be a part of it, too.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Author's notes [here](https://justaquarterdead.tumblr.com/post/168952999479/a-fruitful-christmas-eve-notes).


End file.
